Aspire Advocacy’s founders have been advocates for a long time and have extensive knowledge of IEP insider tricks. They have attended hundreds (if not thousands) of IEPs. School districts, however, still find new and creative ways to surprise parents and advocates, trying to catch them off guard. Access to documentation that is properly completed is vital for a parent looking to get their child a helpful IEP. Here are some IEP insider tricks surrounding documentation that will inevitably happen as part of your meetings with your school district.
When the district proposes an IEP date, this is when a parent needs to start planning. Some school districts might ask
parents on a Thursday to have a meeting on the following Monday. Absolutely not! There is no way that you can get all the documents you’ll need for the meeting before Monday. Going into a meeting unprepared is a disservice to both you and your child. The school district’s lack of planning is their problem, not yours.
For one of our IEP insider tricks regarding documentation: ALWAYS ask for any assessments, present levels of performance including goal updates, which goals were met from the previous year (which will also tell you which goals were not), and proposed new goals at least one week prior to the IEP. This allows you time to review the documents, take notes, ask for help, do your own research, consider the relevance of the information, and give you time to decide what you want to suggest in the IEP team meeting. Districts often work on many of these documents until the last possible minute. We have found success asking the school district for documents a week in advance, as the school normally delivers the documents three to four days ahead of the meeting.
As a part of their IEP insider tricks and tips, we always carve out time to read over essential documents.
If you do not receive the documents in advance of the IEP team meeting, you do not have sufficient time to plan. Do NOT attend an IEP where you have not had time to plan. Bear in mind: there could be unexpected surprises in the documents the school district gives you. There have been IEP meetings that we have attended where IEP assessments presented exceedingly upsetting information. Sometimes an additional diagnosis is mentioned, but it could also be an extremely low IQ score. If a parent is not expecting this information and has not had sufficient time to explore their options, this type of news can greatly reduce the parent’s effectiveness in the IEP meeting. Some districts embrace this tactic so that the parent is at a disadvantage during the meeting. Unfortunately for parents, this tactic often works.
If you cannot get the documents listed above at least 3 days ahead, reschedule the IEP meeting (in writing). As a parent, you are entitled to meaningful participation in the IEP process. Knowing what the school district plans to say, having time to process it, and being ready to respond will help you advocate more effectively for your child.
Talk to an advocate. As parents, we understand. As advocates, we can help.